Shakira asks judge to throw out ex’s suit

4/18/2013

BLADE NEWS SERVICES

Pop star Shakira is asking a New York judge to throw out a $250 million lawsuit filed by her ex, Antonio de La Rua.

De la Rua, son of former Argentine President Fernando de la Rua, dated the singer and judge on The Voice for more than a decade before they split in 2011. He has been waging an international war against his ex, saying he shaped the “Shakira brand.”

Shakira said in court papers filed in Manhattan that she does not owe her success to de la Rua. She says he was just one of her numerous advisers.

Movie ratings tweaked

The Motion Pictures Association of America is changing its rating system to better inform parents about violence in movies.

CEO Christopher Dodd announced the tweaks in Las Vegas Tuesday at the annual movie-theater convention, CinemaCon.

The White House has called on the movie industry to give parents better tools to monitor violence in media since the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.

Dodd did not address the shooting directly but spoke generally about the need to help parents control what their kids see.

The new ratings system will include descriptions about why a movie received its ratings. For example, the rating might cite “strong carnage” or “war violence.”

Morgan to host

Tracy Morgan will host the Billboard Music Awards show on May 19 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Billboard announced Wednesday.

The 44-year-old former Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock cast member says in a statement that he’s honored to host the show.

Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, and Miguel will perform at the awards show. Prince will receive the icon award and will also hit the stage.

The Billboard Music Awards will air live on ABC at 8 p.m.

‘Pushover’

Jennifer Aniston may have played a terrible manager in the 2011 comedy Horrible Bosses, but in real life the actor turned-director/producer says she’s a total “pushover” when in charge.

Aniston executive produced the upcoming television movie Call Me Crazy: A Five Film, a compilation of short films about mental illness premiering Saturday on Lifetime.

At the movie’s premiere Tuesday in Los Angeles Aniston admitted she’s a hardworking, no-nonsense boss who loves seeing a film come together from the ground up.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has hired Craig Zadan and Neil Meron for an encore performance as Oscar producers, retaining them for the 2014 broadcast after this year’s show garnered solid ratings.

The move is unusual because the job of hiring the show’s producers traditionally belongs to the incoming president, who won’t be chosen until the end of July.

Zadan and Meron’s show drew the biggest Oscar audience in several years but sparked some controversy, with a number of pundits and academy insiders criticizing host Seth MacFarlane’s repartee as juvenile, including the now-infamous “We Saw Your Boobs” opening number. It’s not clear whether the producers will ask MacFarlane to return as host.

MacFarlane, best known for his Family Guy animated series, has said that he doesn’t intend to return to the hosting duties.

He is readying his new film, a Western he will star in called A Millions Ways to Die in the West.

The 2014 telecast will be March 2.

‘Office’ party

Organizers say more than 3,000 tickets have already been purchased by people around the globe who plan to attend the wrap party next month in Scranton, Pa., to commemorate the final episode of the NBC comedy The Office.

The long-running show is set in the northeastern Pennsylvania city. Organizers of the May 4 celebration say John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer, who play lovebirds Jim and Pam Halpert, are among the cast and crew members who’ll attend.

Ticket purchases reportedly are coming from as far away as Canada and Great Britain.

The series finale is May 16.

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